In a private room on the second floor of Xiangji Teahouse, Yokoyama Chiyo, dressed in men's clothing, sat by the window with a man with an effeminate appearance, watching the carriages below gradually disappear into the distance.
"Master, that's the Zhang family's carriage. The Zhou family arrived in the capital today. Zhang Xiantao and Zhao Mingyue went to the city gate to pick them up." The effeminate-looking man was none other than Yokoyama Chiyo's trusted confidant, the masked man.
Last month, Yokoyama Eiko sent people to Anyang Prefecture to rescue people. After rescuing them, Yokoyama Ichiro led his men directly to Nanyang Prefecture, but the masked man brought a group of Japanese pirates to the capital.
The Japanese pirates brought to the capital were all former subordinates. The masked man was once a nobleman from a large family in Japan, but his family was wiped out because someone in his family offended the Japanese king.
For various reasons, the masked man was not killed along with his clansmen, but was instead imprisoned in a dungeon where he was tortured day and night. When he was on the verge of death, it was Yokoyama Chiyo, who had traveled from another time, who saved him.
At that time, the masked man escaped from the East alone. After Yokoyama Chiyo and her three children were expelled, they met the masked man again on an island. At that time, the masked man was still injured, and Chiyo used her internal energy to heal him and save his life.
From then on, the masked man served Yokoyama Chiyo as his master. Yokoyama Eiko ordered the masked man and Yokoyama Ichiro to go to Nanyang Prefecture to capture Li Quan and Zhao Guizhi's family, but the masked man disobeyed. He only had Yokoyama Chiyo as his master and would not listen to anyone else.
After the masked man led dozens of Japanese pirates into the capital, he quickly found Yokoyama Chiyo and told her about Yokoyama Eiko's plan.
"I underestimated Yingzi. She's definitely smarter than Ichiro. She secretly went to rescue people without telling me, but she was afraid of angering me, so she didn't dare let Ichiro come to the capital. Instead, she had him capture Zhao Guizhi and the others as hostages to atone for his sins." Yokoyama Chiyo easily guessed what her younger sister was up to.
The masked man had only arrived in the capital yesterday. After parting ways with Yokoyama Ichiro, he did not go directly to the capital but instead went to an island to search for people. Nearly a hundred of his old subordinates were hiding on that island.
These old subordinates were the underlings that Oni-Masked Man had recruited after following Yokoyama Chiyo, and they were very loyal to him. However, when he went to find his underlings this time, half of them were unwilling to work for him anymore.
“The inland is too dangerous. The Great Jin Dynasty is not what it used to be. We don’t want to go and die,” said the other half of the leader who was unwilling to follow.
There was no need to keep those who disobeyed, so the masked man killed them and brought those who were willing to work for him to the capital.
On his way to the capital, the masked man encountered the Zhou family. He had considered killing them all on the way, but the Zhou family was protected by five hundred soldiers, and he could not find an opportunity to strike.
Just as the masked man and Yokoyama Chiyo finished reporting everything, they saw the Zhang family's carriage pass by on the street below. Yokoyama Chiyo seemed to be deep in thought.
"Master, should I take some men and kill the Zhou family?" the masked man asked.
Chiyo Yokoyama shook her head in disagreement, "There's no need to keep an eye on the Zhou family. The princess has sent so many people to guard the Zhou residence, we have no chance to make a move, and we might even alert them."
What Chiyo didn't say was that the five boys from the Zhou family were also very skilled in martial arts and not so easy to kill. They should have focused their energy on how to seize the throne.
Once the Ming King succeeds in seizing the throne, what else is there to worry about? He can kill whoever he wants with just a word.
On March 20th, Zhao Guihua entered the palace with her two daughters-in-law. Seven days later would be Xingxing's wedding day. It was said that the Empress was also ill and had been bedridden, but the Emperor and Empress insisted that Xingxing's wedding be held on time and that the wedding date should not be delayed.
The emperor was worried that if the matter was delayed any longer, he would not live to see the day of the eldest princess's wedding, so he insisted on not changing the date. Yesterday, he summoned Zhu Lin to serve him and sent Xingxing back to her own palace to rest.
Xingxing disagreed, but the emperor insisted, "Long'er, listen to me. Your father has something to say to the consort, and it is not appropriate for you to listen in. Chu Mo and a group of imperial physicians are here, so you don't need to worry."
Fourth Senior Brother spent so much time in the palace before, but it was all for naught. The Emperor treated him very well, and after he fell ill this time, he directly called him Chu Mo, which was quite affectionate.
Xingxing was worried that the emperor would be angry, so she dared not disobey him and had no choice but to leave.
The emperor summoned Zhu Lin to take care of him, but his real intention was to entrust him with some matters of his own affairs and, incidentally, to teach him some principles of being a ruler. Zhu Lin was so clever that he immediately understood his father-in-law's intentions.
Just like what my fourth senior brother said, the princess is kind-hearted and there are many things she can't do that require getting her hands dirty, so he'll do them. The emperor also wants him to be a tool in the princess's hand, or to put it bluntly, to use him.
However, as long as the object is his Long'er, he doesn't mind being used. He is willing to be used and he is willing to use any means to protect his Long'er.
"You said that Japanese pirates have infiltrated the capital, and I'm afraid they might instigate the Ming Emperor to launch a coup on the day of your wedding. The Zheng family is quite powerful, and there are old Zheng family subordinates in the army. They will definitely support the Zheng family and lead their troops into the capital."
General Zhang is trustworthy; he holds a high position in the army and is very influential. He is loyal to me, and with him around, there shouldn't be any trouble in the army. However, you must still be vigilant. Also, the princess has relatives in Nanyang Prefecture; you must send people to protect them well. If they are captured by Japanese pirates or people with ulterior motives and taken hostage, it will be very detrimental to the situation.”
The emperor slowly pointed out each point, and Zhu Lin listened quietly and carefully. He couldn't help but admire his father-in-law. There was a reason why he was able to sit on the throne and prevent the country from falling into chaos during the worst decade or so in the Great Jin Dynasty.
Governing a country well is not easy; it truly requires painstaking effort and dedication. Besides gaining supreme power, one also bears the greatest burden. To be a wise ruler is destined to be a thankless and arduous task.
"I will remember His Majesty's teachings and will do my utmost to protect the princess for the rest of my life. With the princess's blessings and good fortune, I believe that the people of the world will soon be able to live a life where they have enough to eat and wear." Zhu Lin made a promise and comforted the emperor with a few words.
The emperor was relieved. In just a few months, he looked more than ten years older than before, and even his voice sounded hoarse. "Long'er is very kind and cares about the people. She has found various drought-resistant grains for the Great Jin Dynasty and also found silver mines. The people of the world are blessed."
As he was speaking, the emperor closed his eyes and fell silent. Zhu Lin was already used to it. The emperor had been like this for the past few days. He was weak and could not speak for long after waking up before he would fall asleep again due to exhaustion.
After tucking the emperor in, Zhu Lin turned and left with light steps. He called An Yi over for a question. An Yi had already received the emperor's order and had been following the prince consort's arrangements during this period.
"What's the situation in Nanyang Prefecture?"
"I've already sent a carrier pigeon to ask the prefect to send troops to protect the Zhou family's relatives, but there's been no reply yet. I don't know the current situation either," An Yi replied respectfully, bowing his head.
Zhu Lin frowned and said in a deep voice, "We were careless. We should have sent people to protect them sooner."
Nanyang Prefecture.
Under the cover of night, a dozen masked men, carrying knives, scaled the wall and entered the courtyard of the Chen residence, the home of Chen Shunping and Zhao Guizhi.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
